Wife, 48, hanged herself after arguing with husband

A grandmother and millionaire's wife hanged herself after arguing with her husband about her sleeping pill addiction - weeks after she threatened to kill herself on a holiday of a lifetime.

Sharon Halliwell, 48, had been expecting a referral to a psychiatrist upon her return from jetting off on a month long trip to Singapore, Dubai and Malaysia with her husband, Darren Halliwell, 50.

However due to a mistake by a mental health nurse at the North West Borough NHS Trust, the referral was never made, but she was seen by another community mental health team before her death.

The devoted mother-of-two, from Wigan, Greater Manchester, had a longstanding addiction to sleeping pills and ordered them in bulk off the internet - despite telling her husband that she had come off them.

Sharon Halliwell, 48, (pictured) had just returned home from a trip of a lifetime to Dubai, Malaysia and Singapore

Mr Halliwell, first hit headlines after an alleged drunken assault on his wife onboard a British Airways flight to Houston, Texas, in 2015.

It was claimed he urinated on the seats and caused the flight to divert, but no charges were brought after he paid the US jail £3,250 bail.

The IT tycoon, who accused his wife of having an affair, later admitted assaulting Mrs Halliwell after coming home drunk from the pub in September 2015, where she claims to have barricaded herself in a bedroom.

As a result, he was forced to leave the family home in Aspull, Wigan, and given a three year restraining order against his wife.

The pair rekindled their relationship, despite having officially separated and kept in close contact with each other in the lead up to Mrs Halliwell's death, with the restraining order being discharged by magistrates in May 2016.

The grandmother's body was found by Mr Halliwell at the bottom of her stairs in her £200,000 home after sending him messages the night before that 'she would be gone by the morning'.

Mr Halliwell, who takes part in UK Based Masters Crossfit competitions, told the inquest at Bolton Coroners Court: 'I would say that we had the close to perfect family. We went on holiday to Spain a lot when the girls were younger.

'Sharon enjoyed the gym and pampering sessions and was an avid shopper. Throughout most of her life Sharon enjoyed relative good health.

'She did have problems with OCD but did seek treatment for her condition. She suffered anxiety and depression which became worse then the girls left the family home.

'She had issues sleeping but didn't seek help from her GP and instead bought medication from the internet.

Darren Halliwell (pictured) found his wife at the bottom of her stairs in her £200,000 home

'She became addicted to the sleeping tablets. We separated around 18 months ago, because of her addiction.

'Our relationship became volatile sometimes however we had been living together. After the separation Sharon moved to a new house on a new estate.

'I do not have a key for that house. I have a key for the garage because I keep my motorbike in there and on occasions she would give me the key to her house but would always ask for it back.

'Sharon admitted that she was addicted to taking the tablets. During this time she did some courses and had therapy to manage the situation.

'In June 2016 she accepted that she was still taking the sleeping tablets and so we went to the drug and alcohol team.'

Mrs Halliwell had attended appointments with the drug and alcohol team in Wigan and Leigh in 2016, and by November she was telling them that she was no longer relying on the sleeping pills.

Mr Halliwell confirmed she was offered some support from them and was referred back to her GP, but he had to attend appointments with her or she many not go. He also said that she seemed to be improving.

Mrs Halliwell then began to display suicidal thoughts and actions, with Mr Halliwell adding: 'She was talking more about having suicidal thoughts.

'She had talked about taking her own life before, that was nothing new. She did talk about it from time to time.

'We also decided to book a holiday to Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia. Before this on three or four occasions Sharon made threats to harm herself.

The mother-of-two (pictured) from Wigan, Greater Manchester had a longstanding sleeping pill addiction

'She said that she was going to tie something around her neck. On one occasion in February she was at my house when she wrapped a hoover chord around her neck, I did manage to get it off her.

'On another occasion I did call the police as she left my home saying she was going to harm herself.

'I didn't really want to call the police because of our history, but I did call them and they got in contact with her and she said she was fine and they said that she was not a risk to herself.

'We left for the holiday on February 24 and was away until March 20. On our return we believed that she was going to get an appointment with a psychiatrist. She had never been properly diagnosed with an illness.

'On the first night of our holiday she said that she was going to take her own life by jumping off the roof in Singapore.

'The second day she tied a bungee luggage rope around her neck. I took it off her and she calmed down.

'She was fine for the rest of the holiday and she had gone back to the Sharon I know.

'When we got back she was having some work done to her house. I was around there and I signed for a parcel. I suspected that it was sleeping pills.

'I asked her to open the package. She did and admitted it was sleeping pills. I told her that she should go to the doctor and they would prescribe them to her. That was the last time I was at the house.

'She had the work done to her home and stayed with me for a couple of days. On the Friday she was quite argumentative and I don't know why she was just arguing about everything.

'It was about the tablets and she left and I didn't see her after that. She did text me a few different messages.

'She told me she loved me and then text me different messages, one was saying she felt too sick to get up.

'I spoke to her on the phone in the evening. She didn't want me to tell anyone the reason that we weren't talking which was a reference to her taking the sleeping tablets.